Ashley and Shepard: Childhood friends to more than friends
by Ballistica
Summary: This story is about Shepard and Ashley's childhood before the start of Mass Effect
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Siege of Mindior

It was a normal summer day on Mindoir. An eight year old boy was playing in his parent's yard while his mother and father were planting carrots. The boy's name was John. John always dreamed of one day fighting an unknown enemy and saving the world from destruction. His mother always supported John, but his father always told John that he would stay on the farm to help his parents in the family business until he inherits the land. John always argued, but his father's mind was set. John didn't realize that after today his fate was going to change.

"John! Go get the pitchfork!" yelled John's dad.

John moaned and slowly walked into the tool shed. Before he walked out of the shed he noticed that it had become darker outside. He walked out of the shed to find a massive batarian cruiser covering the sky. Suddenly, batarian raiders started to pour out of the ship. John saw the batarians killing innocents and looting their bodies and shops without feeling a hint of remorse. He turned his head towards the direction of his house and saw a terrible sight. John saw his mother and father on their knees with pistols held to the backs of their heads.

John's father looked up and saw John standing there in shock. John saw his father mouth one word. RUN. In that instant, the pistols fired. Tears started to pour from John's face. Even though he was breaking down, John respected his father's last wish. He ran. He ran as fast as his feet could take him through the explosions and gunfire. He then found a clearing where Alliance soldiers were slaughtering batarians. Someone quickly grabbed him by the arm and led him towards an Alliance shuttle.

The man threw John into the shuttle and entered the shuttle with his fellow comrades. John looked out of the window to see his home burning. He was crying. He didn't want to, but he couldn't help it. Then, the man who threw John into the shuttle took off his helmet.

"You, what is your name?" asked the soldier.

"John Shepard. Yours?"

"Robert Williams."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The journey on the shuttle took a long time. Eventually, the shuttle made it back to an Alliance frigate. When John stepped onto the vessel the feeling was exhilarating despite the fact that his parents were dead.

John tugged the sleeve of Mr. Williams and asked, "Where are we going?"

"Sirona." Said Mr. Williams.

A few hours later the vessel docked on the Sironian spaceport.

"You're with me kid!" yelled Mr. Williams over the cheers of his fellow soldiers.

John closely followed the man until they reached a sky car.

"Where are we going?" asked John.

"We are going to my house. You will stay with us until we can find someone who can take care of you." said Mr. Williams.

"Us?" thought John. "God, I hope his family likes me. I don't want to be a burden.

The two finally reached a largely sized house near downtown. When Mr. Williams opened the door, four girls immediately charged at him. They were his daughters. Mr. Williams greeted his daughters and kissed his wife. His wife quickly noticed the eight year old standing behind Mr. Williams.

"Who is this?" asked the woman very sweetly.

"This is the only survivor from the planet Mindoir." Mr. Williams responded grimly.

The woman's smile quickly disappeared and turned into an expression of pity. The little girls' expressions also turned dark.

"The colony was ransacked by Batarian raiders. I told the boy he could stay here until we can find someone to take care of him." said Mr. Williams.

Mrs. Williams quickly introduced the family.

"Ok, my name is Carol. The youngest is Sarah, this is Lynn, this is Abby, and the oldest is Ashley. What is your name?" asked Mrs. Williams.

"My name is John Shepard." He said.

"How old are you?" asked Mrs. Williams.

"Eight years old." John quickly replied.

"Oh! Same age as Ashley." Said Mrs. Williams

John looked over and found Ashley staring at him. She quickly looked away and started to blush.

"Well, you are welcome in our home John." said Mrs. Williams.

"Thank you." said John calmly still thinking of his parents.

John didn't know how long he would stay here, but he thought it was nice to have some friendly company around.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Starting School

It has been two weeks since John moved in with the Williams family. John always played with the girls and helped Mrs. Williams out around the house since Mr. Williams was always on deploy. He always seemed to hang out around Ashley more than anybody. They both always had something to talk about and were always happy with the others company. Before they both realized it, school was about to start.

"Great. School is about to start back." said Ashley.

"It's not that big a deal." John replied.

"Here it is. It's soooo boring." Ashley complained.

"Well, we can't do anything about it. Were just kids." said John.

Ashley had a frown on her face from that comment. She believed that she could do anything she wanted. She didn't believe age was a factor.

School was going to start tomorrow and John was nervous. This was the first time he was going to a school other than the one that was on Mindior. He was stressing to make a good impression to all the kids on this planet. He kept thinking about what he was going to say to all the kids.

"Don't be so worried silly!" laughed Ashley.

The next day Ashley and John walked to school together. It was the start of the 4th grade for both of them.

"Don't worry. I know everyone at the school. You stick with me and you'll be fine." comforted Ashley.

"Thanks Ash." said John.

"Ash?" said Ashley smiling.

"You don't like it?" said John.

"No, I like it a lot." smiled Ashley.

When the two finally made it to the school they luckily found out that they had the same class. They both headed over to Mrs. Johnson's class and chose two seats right next to each other.

"Good morning class!" said Mrs. Johnson.

"Now, I know most of you from around the school, but if there is anyone new I would like them to tell the class who they are and where they are from." said Mrs. Johnson.

Everyone's eyes looked around the room for new faces until they all rested on John. John then nervously stood up.

"Come on now don't be shy." said Mrs. Johnson.

"M-my name is John Shepard and I'm from Mindior."

The teachers face immediately turned dark with pity.

"What is the matter Mrs. Johnson?" asked one of the students.

"Nothing dear." quickly replied Mrs. Johnson.

"No, it's ok." said Shepard.

"Mindior was recently attacked by Batarian raiders. I'm the only person who made it out." said John grimly.

John quickly sat down looking pale and depressed. Ashley felt so bad for John. She kept looking at him thinking of something comforting to say, but she had no words.

Class seemed to drift by in a haze for Shepard. He moved around and did what the teacher said, but he never really listened. Before he knew it, it was the end of the day.

"Are you all right? You've looked down all the time when no one was looking at you." said Ashley.

"I'm ok." said John quickly putting on a smile.

"Alright well, I wanted to say you did a great job making friends." said Ashley.

"I did?" asked John.

"Yes, don't you remember?" said Ashley.

"Of-Of course I remember." said John.

In John's mind he couldn't believe it. He made the great first impression he had been stressing over and he didn't even realize it.

"It's all easier from here on out." thought John.


	4. Chapter 4

This now jumps 4 years ahead. Shepard and Ashley are now 13 years old and in the 8th grade

Chapter 3

John is now living with foster parents, but still living on the same planet. He still keeps in touch with the Williams family. John's foster parents are going off-world to celebrate Christmas alone and John is staying with the Williams family until they returned. John was starting to show interest in the Marines. Every time Mr. Williams was home or on shore leave, John would talk to him about the Marines and Mr. Williams would teach John skills like Marine hand-to-hand combat. Mr. Williams was home for the holidays and John was taking time with him to sharpen his skills. He would like to show off his Marine skills every time Ashley would appear. He liked her, but he would never admit it since they've been friends since they were eight. John decided to get gifts for the whole Williams family as a way of saying thanks for all they have done for him. He got gifts for every member of the family except for Ashley. He wanted to get her something that was practical, but said that he cared without creeping her out. He finally decided to ask for help from Sarah.

"Hey Sarah." said John.

"Hey John. What's up?" replied Sarah.

"I need your help deciding what to get Ashley for Christmas." said John.

"Definitely not anything girly. She is not into that stuff and she'll take it the wrong way. She'll think that you think she's soft." said Sarah.

"Any other advice?" asked John.

"Make sure it something she'll continuously use instead of something she'll just throw in her closet and never open." said Sarah.

"Got it." replied John.

"What's so important about getting Ashley such a great gift." asked Sarah.

"No reason." said John looking away.

Sarah immediately smiled and walked away. She could tell John liked Ashley. John left the house and looked all around town looking for something Ashley would like. He spent two full hours looking with no success. Then, he finally saw it. In a clothes shop window, John saw a blue hoodie that Ashley had been obsessed with getting, but it was so expensive. The hoodie cost $100. A HOODIE! John walked up to the store manager and asked if he could get the hoodie for a cheaper price.

"Please! That hoodie has been sitting in the window for four months and no one has even asked about it. Tell you what kid. I'll sell you the jacket for $40." said the store manager.

"SCORE!" thought John.

John immediately got back to the house and wrapped up the jacket.

Christmas Morning

It was time for everyone to start opening presents One by one, John watched all the presents disappear from under the tree. The last present to leave the tree was labeled, "To: Ash. From: John."

Ashley ripped open the present and immediately started gawking over it.

"Oh my God! I love it!" screamed Ashley.

She stood up and hugged John. He wasn't really prepared for it, but he was really happy. He looked over and caught Sarah's eye and she gave him a wink.

After things started to calm down, John walked out on the porch to get some fresh air. When John was about to walk back into the house, Ashley walked out.

"Hey!" said Ashley.

"Hey." replied John.

"I want to thank you again for the gift. I forgot how much I wanted it." Said Ashley

"I remembered how much you loved it." Said John.

They both looked at each other for a moment and then realized what was above them. Mistletoe. Ashley looked down and smiled. John definitely wasn't ready, but before he knew it Ashley had kissed him. Ashley looked at him for his reaction. John smiled and then kissed her again.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It has been one week since John and Ashley kissed. Every time they were around each other the air was always filled with awkward tension. The two would often see each other since school was back in session. One day John knew that he had to clear the air with Ashley or he knew that the rest of high school would be crap. Finally, he did it.

"Ash, can we talk for a second?" asked John.

"Sorry John, I have to get to class." Ashley replied.

"We have a free period." John said.

"Right, I should have thought that out. Fine, what do you want?" Ashley asked.

"Look, ever since Christmas you've barely said two words to me. I'm not asking you to go out with me if you don't want to, so let's just forget about what happened and just go back to being friends." John said.

"That's a lot of stress off my shoulders. I thought this would just wreck our friendship. I'm glad it's behind us." Ashley said relieved.

"Now, do you want to hang out as friends?" asked John.

"I'd loved to." said Ashley.

Shepard and Ashley left to hang out in the school courtyard. Ashley didn't know, but John's emotions were wrenched.

Don't worry! It doesn't end here. More to come! If you like this story, then look up one of my favorite bands Hollywood Undead and listen to their hit song "Here Me Now." If you like that song, then leave your thoughts on the song in the reviews.


	6. Chapter 6

Ashley and Shepard are now 16 and in the 10th Grade

Chapter 6

It has been a few years since John and Ashley have had their romantic run-in. The two now have a friendship greater than what it was before. But John still has feelings for Ashley. He cares for her, but he is afraid that things will end up the way they did last time or maybe she won't feel the same way. His feelings are finally shown when the new kid turns out to be a jerk and starts hitting on Ashley.

John was walking down the halls to get to his alien cultures class when he heard someone say, "Get away from me you freak!"

John recognized that voice. It was Ashley's. John walked around the corner to see the new kid, Butch (who is a faggot) leaning against the lockers trying to flirt with Ashley. John knew Ashley could easily throw him to the ground, but she never wanted to do that at school. She knew it would hurt her reputation with guys (cuz all guys don't want a girl who can beat them up, but John thought it was hot) The sight of Butch doing that made John's blood boil. He thought for a second. He decided he would play is cool.

"Hey, knock it off man!" said John.

"What's it to you Shepard?" replied Butch.

"She's my friend, and she wants you to leave her alone."

"Fine! I'll leave." Said Butch and he walked away.

"Thanks." said Ashley.

"You've turned him down a hundred times Ash. That dumbass is really persistent." said John.

"Let's just forget about it. Come on were going to be late for class." smiled Ashley starting to jog.

The rest of the day seemed to go pretty slow for John. Classes seemed longer and everything seemed to go in slow motion until the incident that happened right after the final bell. Ashley was getting books out of her locker and John was talking with her until Butch came back with two of his friends.

"Hey Williams! How you doing sweet ass!" said Butch

John's hands turned quicly into fists at the very sound of that comment.

"I already told you leave me alone." said Ashley.

"But how can I? You look so good today." said Butch.

"She said go away." said John.

"Who are you? Her boyfriend?" chuckled Butch,

John started to blush from the comment. He prayed to God Ashley didn't noticed.

"So Ash. Friday night I got tickets to see a local biotiball game. You in?" asked Butch.

"Sorry butch, but I would rather be anywhere else." replied Ashley smirking.

"You're just a world-class bitch aren't you?" laughed Butch.

That moment seemed to go as fast as lightning. Without even thinking, John punched Butch straight in the jaw. He was on the ground bleeding. His little posse ran away when they saw Butch on the ground.

Butch got up and said "you're gonna get yours shit-head!"

Again John punched Butch straight across the face. This time Butch just got and left with no comment. John looked over to see Ashley standing there eyes wide open and as pale as Snow White.

"What the hell John?" asked Ashley.

"He deserved it! He called you a bitch. Did you think I was just gonna let him call you that?" said John.

"No! But you didn't have to hit him. And since when did you care so much?" said Ashley.

"You're my g-friend." said John.

"I gotta go." said John.

John quickly walked out the back door, got into his skycar, and left.

Don't forget to loo lloet ok up "Hear Me Now" by Hollywood Undead. Give the Undead Army some suppart!


End file.
